Carty couldn't say no to skating

Todd Carty has said that he couldn't bring himself to turn down Dancing On Ice when he was offered a second chance to appear in the series.

Former EastEnder Todd is back for the final series of the ITV celebrity skating contest, an All-Stars edition with competitors from previous years putting their skates back on.

The actor, who is famous for having had so little control on the ice that he skated off the rink at one point because he couldn't stop, admitted: " It is daunting, it's always going to be daunting for me I'm afraid, but that's life...

"It was nice to be asked back for the last one and I think if I'd said no then I'd be watching them on a Sunday night thinking, 'Oh, I'd fancied a bit more of that'."

Todd said he had not skated since leaving the show last time: "The boots were firmly under the stairs for the last five years. When the call came I opened it up, they were still in there and I said, 'Shall we do this?' They gave me a little wink and said, 'Go for it'."

He added: "Once it was all over I thought it was a dream, and then I woke up and thought, 'Oh, did that happen?' I was pinching myself so I'm reliving the dream, or maybe reliving the nightmare come a couple of weeks' time."

Of his aims for this series, Todd said: "To get round... and I might surprise you... If I can get round alive and go through the front door and see my children again, that would be great for me.

"I don't think I do have anything to prove because I can't, my ability is only very limited. I've learned to stop, which is quite handy, and that's without the assistance of my partner, so my stopping might be my key thing in this."